The Forgotten War
This is both a source of Lore, and a side-story to Deception:The Lady's Seal. It may contain '''Spoilers' if you read too closely- so note; you have been warned (XD)'' The Forgotten War was the war between forces of Midchan and Gelu, beginning shortly after the arrival of the Founders. The story below is from Gelu's point of view, though be assured Midchan sees things slightly differently. No one is exactly sure how it started, and so stories were created over time to describe the uprising of the event that caused so much destruction and a feud to current time between Midchan and Gelu. I still can't think of the names for a few characters, but I was trying to practice writing in preparation for The Lady's Seal a bit, and decided to kill two birds with one stone. This was, I can create a little background to explain some history, and practice! Note: Inh= insert name here The wind howled eerily outdoors, muffled slightly by the thick walls of the wooden cabin; ice shards shattered upon the glass, and the young fox scooted closer toward her father, glancing up at him for reassurance. He merely smiled, stroking her headfur with a comforting paw. “It’s alright Raelin, just sit here by the fire, and maybe I can make some tea in a little bit…” He glanced over to the kitchen, messy and stores nearly empty from the blizzard. It was practically impossible to go out, as the deep snow had blockaded all doors and roads. The well was frozen and pipes were creaking ominously, but having been warned beforehand by a friendly neighbor, he had prepared early by putting a few barrels of water in the cellar. They would be alright until the storm passed. The older arctic fox looked to the hallway, listening intently for a moment. “Your grandparents are long asleep… So. how about I tell you a story?” Raelin sat up a little, pulling the blanket further up her shoulders with an eager nod, she loved hearing her father tell her stories, and typically had some input. “Ooh, how about… a new one, with adventure and…” He cut her short, nodding in thoughtful agreement. “Yes, yes… I’ll tell you a new one-” He paused, changing from a joking manner to a mysterious one. “Well in truth it’s not exactly a new story, for it happened a long time ago… but you haven’t heard it told like this before, even though it’s very familiar and close to you every day." “Tell me?” She urged, standing up a little. He gently picked her up and set her next to him on the worn couch, then stood up and wandered toward the kitchen. The older fox pulled out two mugs, and a tea bag, preparing it over the open fire. He brought the warm water and mugs over, pouring a cup of tea and handing it cautiously to his daughter. Then, he walked back over, pulling out a box above the fireplace, Raelin had always wondered what it contained, but had never been able to reach it. He opened the box, pulling out the carvings of a few strange looking creatures. “Long Ago… There was a world the likes of which are a sister to our own, and yet none of us has ever seen. That is, except for the Founders. They were strange creatures from that world, known as ‘Earth’. When they crossed to our world, they changed, and shed their foreign appearance to become like us. When they came here, the world was wild, but not knowing how to go back, they formed a life here, starting in the ancient Mystlandia, whose script few know how to read today. Each of the six went on their own path, and later more from the strange world ventured here across distant seas only the oldest libraries contain the secrets of. However, some beasts’ ideas of a new and perfect place were impossible to achieve, stolen by the humanity in all of us, and so those strange creatures on Earth had been known as Human. There is a beauty to it of course, but also an underlying threat, and eventually that threat raised it’s head, in the form of the Forgotten War… ” Seeing that Raelin did not interrupt, the older arctic fox pulled out two carved figures, they were both strange- Human. They looked to be sisters, for both had similar facial features, except their expressions, so intricate for wood, were far different. One was wearing what appeared to be a long flowing dress, with simple yet elegant flats, her hair was done up neatly, and sleeves were long and bell-like. The other however, wore clothing made for war-like mobility, a simple pair of dark grey pants with a icy blue shirt, light built armor with a belt over her shoulder designed for carrying a sword. Raelin took a closer look, peering at the miniature figures. They both wore tiny necklaces bearing their allegiance, and the warlike lady, most likely from Gelu judging by her seal, had an elegant rapier with a hilt in the shape of a moon. The other, of Midchan, had a climbing vine of ivy wound around her arm. Her thoughts were cut short by the older fox’s words. “These two, so alike and yet different, were siblings from the strange world. The lady from Gelu, named Rue, was the younger, Lia of Midchan being her senior, and was known to have gotten jealous on many occasions of her older sister. The younger was often quite shut away from the rest of the group, and insisted on parting first one they reached our world. She headed north, and created the nation of Gelu, but not before claiming Pinecrest Isle as part of her land to spite her sister who was in the process of founding Midchan." "Now, the story gets more complicated than this. Lia, along with the rest of the group remained in Mystlandia at the time, and had been scouting out the land the best they could. At first, Lia had not noticed Pinecrest Isle, when she had claimed Midchan for her land. It was only later when she recognized Pinecrest Isle was the closest to Midchan, and would make more sense for it to be under Midchan government. Of course, Rue disagreed, and the sisters began a small feud over the island, one more item on a list already as long as the length of Midchan’s river.} "Meanwhile, though Lia did not recognize it, (Inh), who at the time had no country of his own and merely acted as Lia’s advisor, was secretly meeting Rue." "Rue’s lover was willing to do anything for her, but did have ambitions of his own as well. He wanted his own country, so he could live his life freely and visit Rue on his own schedule rather when permitted to leave Midchan by Lia. Only Rue and himself knew of this, and there was another problem. Lia. She loved (Inh) almost as much as her sister, and hoped if he stayed, he would learn to love her as well.” “Then, just when the countries began formulating and things seemed to be peaceful with the world, a rebellion against those of Midchan, led by (Inh) and aided by Gelu began...” He paused, putting the carvings away gently. “So, this is where our story began, the story of the Forgotten War…” “You betrayed me! You were supposed to stay in Midchan as my advisor- not lead a rebellion against me.” Lia stood up angrily, picking up her dress slightly as she stalked forward, glaring down toward her friend and enemy. He sat there defiantly, glancing over at Rue for support. '' ''Lia turned on her sister, “And you! I wasn’t sure if I could trust you anyway, you’re always so distant… But how could you have been plotting with him behind my back?” The dark fox opened her mouth to counter sharply, but was silenced by one of Lia’s vines wrapping tighter around her neck. She tensed, breathing in painfully. Rue tried to reach for her sword, but again the independent vines prevented her, instead, she glared at Lia in annoyance. (Inh)’s paw met hers in reassurance, Rue smiled slightly from inward satisfaction when Lia’s pacing became tenser and eyes more hurt. It served her right, she couldn’t rule everything, (Inh) for example, or even all the land. And yet, she felt a twinge of guilt in the back of her mind. '' ''“You yourself may not realize what you’ve done, but the future will, and they will see the results.” “Lia!” Rue protested, struggling to find the air to breath as she appealed to her sister’s normally softer nature. Miraculously, the vine’s grip weakened for a moment.“You shouldn’t do this! The world doesn’t need more destruction- not now. Even I know that! Remember- you’re supposed to be the healing one, and I’m the senseless warrior- you need to think about what will happen because of this! This is between us- not the future.” Her sister turned to her with cold eyes the other had only seen once before, the vines tightened their grip, not on her, but on (Inh). His face grew strained, breathing in gasps. Rue held her breath, silently begging for Lia to let him go, would she really suffocate him? '' ''He convulsed slightly, but Rue knew he was still conscious. Lia spoke, “(Inh), you led a rebellion against me, and the land you have recovered indeed will be separated, but not in freedom- it. will. be. a. prison.” She almost growled the last words aggressively, approaching him. “It will be called The Banished- a place of solitude even with many people, somewhere even my sister in all her loneliness would detest!” '' ''Lia’s gentle nature was entirely gone, her vines did something Rue had never seen. (Inh) was lifted very slightly off the ground, and pushed away violently, he hit the wall with a crack and fell limply to the large marble tiles. Rue wriggled in her prison of ivy vines to help him, to see if he was alright. She couldn’t tell if his chest was rising and falling or not at all. '' ''Lia then turned on her, attack only verbally. “And Rue- Gelu shall no longer be in alliance with Midchan. From now on, you’re by yourself, and this is war.” She stated coldly. Rue only returned the words with a scowl as smaller vines crept around her neck in a noose-like circle, pressure increasing as if daring her to speak. Lia’s gaze turned to Rue, then to (Inh), and fell with disappointment and hostility, with and underlying emotion Rue could not recognize. Was that… regret? Before she could say another word, Lia turned without looking back at her and departed in a hurry, dress flowing elegantly as she had come, large doors swinging shut behind her. However, before she had done this, something had fallen out of the helm of her sleeve, whether purposefully or not. It was a small flask with sparkling liquid. Poison maybe? The vines did not loosen. Rue stretched to reach her sword, pulling it out of the sheath with a heave of effort. She used it to cut a few vines, and breathed once more with relief with the rest retreated as though from pain and fell to the ground as (Inh) had. The moment she was free, she made a dash for (Inh), dropping to her knees and gently lifting his head. She put a paw on his, trying to find a pulse, and watched to see if he was still breathing. She couldn’t tell. Rue was regretting having spent all her training time on fighting, with hardly a scrap of knowledge in healing. Then she remembered, the flask! '' ''The fox hurried over to grab it from where it landed, looking at the small bottle cautiously. What if Lia had purposely dropped poison, knowing Rue had no medical knowledge? Could (Inh) get in any worse condition? There was only one way to find out. '' ''She uncorked the bottle, holding his head gently and tipping the bottle for him to drink- then hesitated. Instead, she gulped down about half of it herself, waiting a few expectant seconds, and when nothing drastic happened, poured the remaining down his throat. Almost instantaneously, something changed. Was that his breathing, stronger now and more control? Did she feel a soft beat of life pulsing in his veins; did his eyes flicker open for a moment? She wasn’t sure. Rue waited, and waited, unsure and alone. Was it safe to move him, maybe a medic somewhere could help? '' ''She sheathed her sword over her shoulder neatly, then tried to carry him, struggling to stand. She wobbled on her paws precariously, ridding herself of her armor to make it easier, and traipsed down the long stairway, headed toward the stables. ''----'' Don't mind how dramatic it is, like I said- it's one version of what happened, and a story a father is telling to his little daughter XD